UNDERSTANDING AND CONTROLLING LANDFILL FIRES

Extinguishment Methods

Excavate and Overhaul:

Since the fire at the Delta Shake and Shingle DLC landfill was deep seated, with combustion occurring as much as 20 m below surface, it quickly became evident that the fire would not be extinguished by water application alone and a decision was made to excavate and overhaul.

The first step in controlling the fire was to fill in the trenches previously excavated by the landfill owner.  This action reduced the amount of air fanning the burn and made the landfill surface a safer work environment.  Next, the fire zone was smothered with a 6’ to 10’ thick lift of refuse.  Over a two day period two D6 bulldozers were used to cover the fire zone with unburned waste, thus limiting the availability of oxygen and slowing down the rate of the burn.  As shown in Photos 8 and 9, this action dramatically reduced the rate of burn and the amount of smoke that the fire was emitting.

Once the fire was brought under control, two large excavators and six CAT D350D articulated off-road trucks were mobilized to excavate and transport the burning waste from the horseshoe to the cool down areas.  Because ignition of the main fill  zone represented everyone’s worst nightmare, the excavators were directed to work around the perimeter of the horseshoe until a reliable fire guard was established down to inert soil and concrete rubble.  The remainder of the 200,000 m³ were then overhauled.

 

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